Rishi Sunak should appoint a dedicated minister for men to champion issues such as reducing male suicide, improving paternity rights and tackling misogyny, a red wall Tory MP has suggested.
Nick Fletcher, who in 2019 became the first Conservative to win the Don Valley seat, said the government should act to mirror the existing minister for women arguing it would help improve society overall.
He highlighted statistics showing that 75 per cent of people who take their own lives are men, life expectancy is 3.7 years lower for men than women, and that 83 per cent of rough sleepers are male as are 96 per cent of the prison population.
“We need to do something about it,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. “We are failing our young boys, we are failing our young men, we are failing society and we’re failing women and girls too.”
Fletcher pointed out that while there was a women’s health strategy and a hospital for women, there was nothing comparable for men even though 88 die of heart disease every day.
“It’s fantastic that we’ve got a cabinet member for women and inequality. “We’ve also got a junior minister, too, who looks after women. We just need the same for men.
“I’m sure most of your listeners out there have got a man in their life and they want their son, their father, their husband, their brother, to do well to have a healthy life and to have a fulfilling life and be a good part of society.’
Fletcher said another issue that needed to be addressed was that only one in seven primary school teachers were male and one in three primary schools had no male teachers.
He said: “If you’ve got a young boy at home whose father’s not around, and then at school there’s no male teachers at all, it’s very difficult for him to find his way.”
Asked if another priority would be to counter the influence of misogynists Fletcher said: “Yes, we need to deal with that. I genuinely believe it’s the lack of interest in young boys, a lack of good male role models, which is why young boys are searching out people like Andrew Tate.”
He added: “If men are living a better, happier, healthier life then it is better for women too, and it’s better for society as a whole.”
Oliver Wright, Policy Editor
We need better outcomes yes – but not more wasted government money
Few years ago the idea would’ve led to ridicule, but I do actually agree with him regarding the misogyny and the popularity of awful role models like Andrew Tate.
Men are falling behind education
Men are becoming more likely to be in the NEET
Young men are beginning to fall behind in Wages
Young men are becoming more and more isolated in society
If women faced these issues there would be a public outcry
Seems fair, there are plenty of societal problems men face.
I doubt the Tories will actually do anything meaningful with it but mental health, cancer awareness and advocacy for men in “feminine” roles (especially midwives and nurses) would be a few of my priorities.
MP Jess Philips, that’s your cue to laugh at the idea again.
The only men the Tories care about are the rich ones. They’ve been failing the majority of men and boys in this country for decades upon decades.
It sounds like reasonable idea, we need someone to champion men issues in positive and constructive way
Well there’s a whole panel for violence against women and girls so I guess there should be something specific to men, especially as how there three times more likely to be murdered and three times likely to commit suicide and yet have no options like refuge etc.
A better plan would simply to have non gender based positions and panels and simply tackle the problems regardless
We needed this decades ago. Glad it’s finally being considered.
When I grew up I felt no pressure on me to identify with a stereotypically male role in society. I was obviously a man and identified as such but I didn’t think much beyond that such as what it is meant to mean. I don’t really think it means anything beyond the biology of it all.
I wonder if social media has made it worse. Does it tell children that they’re meant to feel a certain way? Doesn’t it tell them that it’s normal to feel insecure when growing up and that you will find your way in the world eventually?
There seem to be so many conmen seeking to take advantage of people who are insecure but telling them it’s easily solved and/or it’s the fault of others.
I totally agree.
I also totally expect that any measures suggested by a minister who actually wants to make a measurable impact will be laughed out of the door by both the “why isn’t there an international men’s day” types, and the more ludicrous left wing types who apparently never want to hold any position of power ever.
Therefore, if such a thing comes about I expect it to be just like *every single other thing* this government has done: a chance for headline grabbing soundbites designed *exclusively* to make their political opponents to sound like assholes for rejecting. It will, like everything else the Tories do, either nothing while making them and their mates richer, or make society worse while making them and their mates richer.
As a woman I totally agree. Working class white men are the most disadvantaged demographic in British society and men face unique issues that are rarely talked about or taken seriously. It’s an open secret that men suffer from loneliness in a way most women don’t due to the unique social structures each gender operates on. We also need to tackle the issue of young men falling for lies of people like Andrew Tate.
Might have to open up a hip new gay bar as close as possible to Westminster and call it “Ministry of Men”.
14 comments
Rishi Sunak should appoint a dedicated minister for men to champion issues such as reducing male suicide, improving paternity rights and tackling misogyny, a red wall Tory MP has suggested.
Nick Fletcher, who in 2019 became the first Conservative to win the Don Valley seat, said the government should act to mirror the existing minister for women arguing it would help improve society overall.
He highlighted statistics showing that 75 per cent of people who take their own lives are men, life expectancy is 3.7 years lower for men than women, and that 83 per cent of rough sleepers are male as are 96 per cent of the prison population.
“We need to do something about it,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. “We are failing our young boys, we are failing our young men, we are failing society and we’re failing women and girls too.”
Fletcher pointed out that while there was a women’s health strategy and a hospital for women, there was nothing comparable for men even though 88 die of heart disease every day.
“It’s fantastic that we’ve got a cabinet member for women and inequality. “We’ve also got a junior minister, too, who looks after women. We just need the same for men.
“I’m sure most of your listeners out there have got a man in their life and they want their son, their father, their husband, their brother, to do well to have a healthy life and to have a fulfilling life and be a good part of society.’
Fletcher said another issue that needed to be addressed was that only one in seven primary school teachers were male and one in three primary schools had no male teachers.
He said: “If you’ve got a young boy at home whose father’s not around, and then at school there’s no male teachers at all, it’s very difficult for him to find his way.”
Asked if another priority would be to counter the influence of misogynists Fletcher said: “Yes, we need to deal with that. I genuinely believe it’s the lack of interest in young boys, a lack of good male role models, which is why young boys are searching out people like Andrew Tate.”
He added: “If men are living a better, happier, healthier life then it is better for women too, and it’s better for society as a whole.”
Oliver Wright, Policy Editor
We need better outcomes yes – but not more wasted government money
Few years ago the idea would’ve led to ridicule, but I do actually agree with him regarding the misogyny and the popularity of awful role models like Andrew Tate.
Men are falling behind education
Men are becoming more likely to be in the NEET
Young men are beginning to fall behind in Wages
Young men are becoming more and more isolated in society
If women faced these issues there would be a public outcry
Seems fair, there are plenty of societal problems men face.
I doubt the Tories will actually do anything meaningful with it but mental health, cancer awareness and advocacy for men in “feminine” roles (especially midwives and nurses) would be a few of my priorities.
MP Jess Philips, that’s your cue to laugh at the idea again.
The only men the Tories care about are the rich ones. They’ve been failing the majority of men and boys in this country for decades upon decades.
It sounds like reasonable idea, we need someone to champion men issues in positive and constructive way
Well there’s a whole panel for violence against women and girls so I guess there should be something specific to men, especially as how there three times more likely to be murdered and three times likely to commit suicide and yet have no options like refuge etc.
A better plan would simply to have non gender based positions and panels and simply tackle the problems regardless
We needed this decades ago. Glad it’s finally being considered.
When I grew up I felt no pressure on me to identify with a stereotypically male role in society. I was obviously a man and identified as such but I didn’t think much beyond that such as what it is meant to mean. I don’t really think it means anything beyond the biology of it all.
I wonder if social media has made it worse. Does it tell children that they’re meant to feel a certain way? Doesn’t it tell them that it’s normal to feel insecure when growing up and that you will find your way in the world eventually?
There seem to be so many conmen seeking to take advantage of people who are insecure but telling them it’s easily solved and/or it’s the fault of others.
I totally agree.
I also totally expect that any measures suggested by a minister who actually wants to make a measurable impact will be laughed out of the door by both the “why isn’t there an international men’s day” types, and the more ludicrous left wing types who apparently never want to hold any position of power ever.
Therefore, if such a thing comes about I expect it to be just like *every single other thing* this government has done: a chance for headline grabbing soundbites designed *exclusively* to make their political opponents to sound like assholes for rejecting. It will, like everything else the Tories do, either nothing while making them and their mates richer, or make society worse while making them and their mates richer.
As a woman I totally agree. Working class white men are the most disadvantaged demographic in British society and men face unique issues that are rarely talked about or taken seriously. It’s an open secret that men suffer from loneliness in a way most women don’t due to the unique social structures each gender operates on. We also need to tackle the issue of young men falling for lies of people like Andrew Tate.
Might have to open up a hip new gay bar as close as possible to Westminster and call it “Ministry of Men”.